The Area_2 publication published the AGDA 2002 Call for Entries poster, this project was a love job, the concept, image making, writing, typography and artwork was developed by Andrew Ashton.

In 2001 Andrew was appointed to head up and develop the communications collateral for the 2002 Australian Graphic Design Awards in Melbourne Australia. To pull the work together Andrew developed general theme — outside in / inside out, an event brand was resolved and a typeface, a free font, were the design elements that bound all of the collateral.

The project depicted is a call for entries poster / brochure. Twenty four Melbourne based designers were invited to respond to the theme and create a hero image. Also four designer were invited to prepare a type based back.

At the time the graphic design of John Melin, collages by photographer Robert Frank, Bukowski and Slessor poems were kicking around as inspiration.

The photograph was taken in an empty paddock next to Melbourne‘s West Gate Bridge. There was no budget and in typical fashion Andrew left the production of the image and artwork to the very last minute, to ensure Andrew‘s fundamental design element was in place — to set a strict time cap, in this instance two weeks from concept to artwork. There were two photographic sessions, the first female model didn’t want the image to go to print and a life model was hired for second sunny shoot. One always wanted the first image to be published; with its approaching tempest, muted light and saturated greens and browns, yet it was never to be.

At the time Andrew was interested in exploring the tension of opposing forces, so much can happen when you strap opposites together.

The type on the back is playful. One wanted the reader to turn the piece up side down and back again. The copy was meant to fox the reader too, while delivering practical information.

The final piece was presented as an A1 poster that housed two portrait A2 posters, each split by a single course perforation parallel with the short edge. The piece was printed on 100gm2 uncoated paper that was folded down to A5 to fit in a C5 purpose designed envelope. There were twelve A1 posters that made up the complete set displaying the work of twenty four designers.

The studio has been featured in the latest edition of prestigious ‘Area‘ graphic design publication, — ‘Area 2‘ was edited by Ellen Lupton. The publication features project work that the studio has completed for the Australian Graphic Design Association Swinburne University, Stephen by Spicers Paper, Saxton Paper, The National Design Centre and self initiated projects Two Pools and the Urban Tree Project.

We will spend the coming weeks preparing some background about these projects, and the projects that weren‘t selected to give readers of Area_2 a little more than just pictures, and brief captions.

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Area_2
An overview of contemporary graphic design, showcasing 100 of the most creative designers working today.
Hardback edited by Ellen Lupton, ISBN 0714848557

• An international, up-to-the-minute overview of graphic design today
• 100 of the most creative designers to have emerged on the international scene over the past five years, chosen by 10 of the most respected figures in the field
• More than 1500 full-color images showcasing the best of contemporary graphics, from posters to books to typefaces and beyond
• An indispensable reference not only for students and graphic designers, but also for anyone interested in the visual trends shaping our culture

In a world of graphic design, particularly when it comes to western packaging design, there is a great deal of work that seems to be over designed, it is a pleasure to encounter designed objects that resist contemporary trends. Works that don‘t have beveled edges; gradated tones; flashes; starbursts; colours straight out of a child‘s colouring set and overly worked symbols, graphics, icons and illustrations.

Anyone familiar with Chinese medicine packaging will enjoy a pallet of unusual colours, default bottle shapes, times roman, helvetica and all forms of chinese character.

White flower is an liquid balm for headache, strains and sinus, the packaging and bottle is a little bigger than your average postage stamp.

13 February 2008

In the spirit of the recent Chinese New Year celebrations, I open my thoughts with a Chinese proverb;“guo zu bu qian“ (binding your feet to prevent your own progress) sourced from the text, A Thousand Pieces of Gold, by Adeline Yen Mah —which illustrates the self destructive nature of mankind.

I use this proverb in reference to the notion that one can create his or her own destiny and a strong belief that you are in charge of your own future. Hence, in simple terms, if you intend to embark on a somewhat successful design career upon being released from tertiary studies into the industry, I would strongly recommend you help yourself by involving yourself in an internship program.

Doing so is a valuable experience, if one can find the time and a studio willing to take them on. If anything at all, on the most basic level, an understanding of the ‘ins and outs‘ of a design studio is developed, and one designer‘s name can be scratched from the ‘cold calling‘ list and added to the new (and most likely quite limited) ‘friendly call‘ list. All this and you have barely left your comfort zone. If you put your ear to the ground and observe, designers‘ processes can be seen and new ways to develop and tease out ideas are discovered. Ask lots of questions and who knows what kind of incredibly useful tips and tricks you could come by. You can safely say partaking in an internship program enriches your mind and creativity as a budding designer and seems to reveal new inspiration that you can take with you at the end. As an intern you are given the opportunity to make industry contacts, be involved in studio projects and learn a few tricks of the trade ranging from dealing with clients to the short cut keys of indesign you never knew existed. I also personally feel that my time as an intern has given me the confidence to aim a little higher and think a little bigger – yan que yong you hong hu zhi (little sparrow with dreams of swans)

14 February 2008

Learning by observing —

During my time at the studio, I have observed various way that designers come across the inspiration or information that feeds the development of a concept for a brief. From what I can see, the best concepts do not always come from design related research and inspiration can come from a range of areas, from Bjork video clips to old school image dictionaries to trawling google image search for something random. And it‘s the random that grows into something exciting and unique…

Erin Morris
Studio intern — February 2008
Communication Design, Honours — RMIT University

Raw, noisy, sad, intense, inaudible, punk be it new, or just old fashioned, seems very paletable in a world over run with perfection. Love or loath it, enjoy a dash of Punk favorites from Joy Division, The Saints, Ian Dury, The Birthday Party or the more recently the Boredoms. It‘s a music style that promises to challenge, clear out the those metaphorical cob webs and in the silence that proceeds, some fresh thinking may follow. It you still are in the loathe camp, continue down to the type tour and forget this random post.